The End of the World Maybe
by Snowbear
Summary: Um... Crane's thoughts about Rosethorn, something about the end of the world... anyway, just read it! RC. IT'S DONE! YAY
1. The Sun and The Sky

A/N: Okay, I know Rosethorn and Crane are a bit OOC here, but oh well… enjoy!

Crane left his workroom and walked out of Winding Circle. He needed to just, get away. To the woods. It was too much. All the work, every day, pressing on him. A break, that's what he needed.

He left the road almost immediately and strode in the trees. They towered above him, stretching towards the sun for its light and heat. The leaves crunching beneath his feet. The young trees, fighting desperately to reach the top, to get above the other trees, to get the sunlight that they so needed. 

Sunlight. That's really what everything needed. No sun, no life, no nothing. If the sun left, it would get colder and colder and the plants would die and the animals would either freeze or starve, which ever came first. Not a pleasant death either way.

Oh, how nice it would be to be a, a bird. To lead a simple life of just hunting and sleeping. And to fly! To soar through the air, the wind rustling past your feathers…

Crane sighed and leaned against a tree. The birds wouldn't know. They wouldn't know when the end was near, when the moment came, the moment before death swallowed everything. 

He reached a tree, a tall sycamore, stretching higher then the other trees. It's white bark gleamed in the late afternoon sunlight, sunlight which might not be there very much longer. The ripple of water rushing over stones, would never be heard again, for the creatures to hear it, and the creek itself would be gone. The water which the sycamore so loved to grow near. Crane stepped up to the old tree, running his hands on the smooth bark. The tree must have been thousands of years old. It would take at least five tall men to wrap around the tree completely. 

Crane felt for a hand-hold in the bark and pulled himself up. The nearest branch was, what, fifty feet up? Crane paused to look. It was more. Still, Crane climbed. He climbed, asking for the tree to help him. After ten minutes he reached the first branch. A branch so wide it must have been three feet in diameter. He sat on it for a second to catch his breath, looking out at the trees that went on for miles, full of life, rich and happy, and ignorant. Would it all be gone, or would it go on, oblivious to the fact that it nearly missed destruction? 

Crane smiled wistfully and thought again about how much better it would be to be ignorant. To be able to live happily until the end. But to know, to be able to count the seconds to death…

Crane shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts. The whole reason he was here was to escape them. He stood up on the branch and climbed as high as the tree would let him. So high that the branches he leaned his weight on where no larger then his leg, and he could see the entire forest stretched out before him. Winding Circle was below him, and he could see clearly why it was called that. Why hadn't he ever come up here before? Why, the hawks flew this low sometimes. He could see one, circled uncertainly over a kill, no wait, it was a vulture. 

Crane smiled wryly to himself. He could identify any tree in the entire world, yet when it came to birds, and even though his name was a bird, he couldn't tell a robin from a osprey. 

A wind picked up and brushed pasted the leaf filled branches, moving the tops of the trees slightly. As the branches of the trees below moved, Crane saw a figure walking down there. Who was it? It looked from here like a dot of hair. Rosethorn. He could tell that hair anywhere. What was she doing here? Looking for escape, as he was?

Rosethorn stopped at the sycamore Crane was perched in and looked up among the branches. But Crane was to far up to be made out. She looked back down and continued on, striding through the forest until she disappeared under the leaves.

Crane felt a strange twinge at his heart. If all this came to pass, what would become of them? Would they argue till the end of their days, a time only prolonged from this point? An image formed in Crane's mind…

Crane stands in front of his green house, his hair gray and his face full of wrinkles, his figure stooped, yet proud.

_"My green house is doing just fine," he croaks proudly._

_An old lady, also stooped and leaning on a walking stick, hair all white and skin in wrinkles stands in front of him, "you still haven't learned that your green house is not right! Forcing plants out of their regular growing seasons," she mutters, still short tempered despite her age. Rosethorn…_

Beautiful, yet dangerous, Crane thought with a smile. A rose, that's what she was. The name fit her perfectly. Was that really his future, if of course, they didn't all die? To stand up proudly for his green house, arguing with Rosethorn? Or were they destined to be more then that? 

Crane stared at the trees below him, thinking of the figure that just passed under. Did he really want to live like that until the end? Or did he want something more from her? Did he want to be something more then just a friend? 

If this came to pass, if it did, he would say something. Say what? _Okay, Crane, come to your senses and look at your feelings. Its no use hiding anything, it'll come out sooner or later. _He would tell her, he would tell her what he thought of her, what he had thought of her for a long time, yet not knowing what it really meant. He would tell her that he loved her, that he only wished to be with her forever. 

But what if, what if his feelings were not returned? It doesn't matter, it would come out sooner or later, _face your fears, Crane_. As he stared at the spot of ground beneath the sycamore that he could see beneath the branches, where Rosethorn stood and looked for, for what? For him? Impossible. 

He imagined that he saw here there again, smiling up at him, wondering what he was doing up in the top of a tree. He could imagine her shouting up to him… Wait, she _was _really there! What was that she was saying?

"What…doing?" Rosethorn's sharp voice could go a long way. Crane sighed and scrambled down, sliding from branch to branch, his robe's catching on the smaller twigs. Then he was sitting on the first branch. The first branch of many, and there was Rosethorn, standing there, looking up at him in confusion.

"Well?" she asked.

"I'm sitting in a tree!" Crane called down, then mentally slapped himself. How lame could he be? The whole way down he had known what he would say, something smart, a good comeback, a good reason to why he was in a tree. He couldn't really say that he was trying to get away, or could he? 

"Why?" Rosethorn asked, leaning against the sycamore trunk.

Crane slid down the trunk slowly, using the same handholds as when he was coming up. Once at the bottom he brushed himself off and smoothed his hair. He didn't look at Rosethorn, afraid she would think him silly, childish, to be climbing a tree.

"So?" she finally asked, her eyes not demanding but, for once, only curious.

Crane lowered his eyes from his brief look into hers. 

"To tell you the truth," Crane paused, had he ever really told Rosethorn the truth? That he only said what he said for sake of habit, habit or being proud and arrogant, and of disagreeing with her? What would she say, to his telling the truth? Or should he just say he was trying to get a closer look at the sun? No… that was silly. Two hundred feet was nothing. The sun was billions of miles away, truth was best.

"I needed a break. All work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy," Crane mentally slapped himself again. Why was he making a fool of himself in front of Rosethorn? That was _not _what he intended to say.

Rosethorn was stifling a laugh, but she managed to control it, "I can understand that." A smile was still playing about her lips. This was certainly something she had never heard out of Crane.

Crane searched blindly for something to say, something to cover up his totally unreasonable remark. But what? He felt Rosethorn's eyes on him, wondering with humor what had come over him. Crane himself wasn't sure of that.

"It's nice out here," he finally said, hoping to distract Rosethorn into a different conversation.

"Yes, it is. I love the trees."

It worked! Crane was delighted, although he didn't show it. Instead he replied, "I must be going," and nodded to her before striding off.

As he was walking away he realized that maybe leaving wasn't so great after all. Standing there, talking to Rosethorn, even if she was laughing at him, wasn't so bad. Now he had to go back to his workroom. How he wished now he had just stayed and talk to her, for once, without arguing. Lately it seemed harder and harder to think of reasonable things to say in front of her. They all came out like… like _that_. Crane thought of what he had said and grimaced. He couldn't even _imagine _himself saying anything like that, even now, after he had said it.

Now he was on the road, and walking into Winding Circle. There were Briar, Sandry, Tris, and Daja, sitting on the roof of Discipline Cottage, talking, laughing, enjoying the afternoon. There teachers would have told them already what was going on, yet, in their youngness, it just wasn't as important. He sighed, even if he couldn't become a different creature, how nice it would be to be young again. To laugh, to run, to play; without a care in the world. 

He could remember his childhood quite clearly, always striving to be the best, yet he always remembered to take time off to play. As his age increased though, that disappeared and he became… obsessed… with how good he was at school. 

He stepped into his workroom and settled himself resignedly into his work. Work all day and all night seemed to be the idea at Winding Circle now, how else would they find out what was going on? It was four in the afternoon, yet the light was almost gone from the sky. And no one knew _why_.

**A/N: Please review and tell me what you think! I _love _reviews, no matter how small! I'm not going to say I won't put up the next chapter until a certain amount of reviews, but I would appreciate it if you did review and tell me what you think of this. The idea itself didn't come until I was half way through page one… Just some bits and pieces of a story popped up in my head and insisted I write them down. More chapters soon. Thank you.**


	2. The Clouds That Cover Them

**A/N: Okay, here's the next chapter.**

Crane stepped outside and yawned. It was dawn. He'd been up all night, watching the moon. It was getting dimmer too, but why? He looked at the sun creeping over the horizon. It was coming up at the right time, but it was much darker then it should be if the sun was where it was. 

Every day, the light was dimmer, less brilliant, every night the moon was less and less visible and the stars for once, shown brighter. They were trying everything they could to find the cause of this, but how could they really, when the sun was billions of miles away? And even if they could get to it, it was far too hot to get very closer to. 

He yawned again and went to his room. He needed to sleep. He could go for two days, maybe three without sleep but if didn't sleep today he'd probably just collapse over a telescope. Just as he was putting his hand on the doorknob he felt a tap on his shoulder. 

Crane turned around. Rosethorn was standing there, looking wide awake and refreshed. How could she be like that? He knew for a fact she was working as hard as he, yet she managed to sneak in sleep, but how? 

"I've been recording the amount of light coming from the sun each day. Every day the sun is less light to a certain degree. Today it's twice as dim as it should be," she said to him.

Crane looked at the sun, now dark enough to look at without seriously injuring the eyes, "Really? That's odd. Do you suppose that it will begin to get dimmer faster as time goes on?" 

"Perhaps," Rosethorn answered, looking at the sun as well in confusion.

Crane turned his eyes from the sun and let them land on Rosethorn. She looked so pretty, with the dim light shining on her hair, her brows furrowed in thought. Rosethorn felt his stare and turned to look at him, her eyes meeting his squarely, although she was a good many inches shorter then he. Crane searched her eyes for something, anything, that might show she could have feel- _Stop it Crane!! Look away; did it ever occur to you that she might see your feelings in your eyes?? _Crane looked back at the sun, leaving Rosethorn slightly puzzled at what had gone on just then and leaving Crane desperately wondering what Rosethorn thought of him, as just a friend, or maybe more… Crane shook his head. Nonsense. They had been rivals, and somewhat friends, for as long as they had known each other. Why would Rosethorn start liking him more now? Then again, why would he?

Crane sighed, but not so loudly that Rosethorn noticed, and said, "I'm going to take a nap, I need some sleep."

Rosethorn looked at him. Yes, it was very obvious he needed some sleep, and more then a nap. Why didn't he just admit it and sleep all day? It wasn't like they were any closer to find the answer. Rosethorn smiled to herself, she knew the answer to her own question. Because he was proud, and _way _to arrogant. 

"Crane. I wouldn't mind if you slept all day," Rosethorn told him.

Crane, instead of saying something back, only nodded and stepped into his room, moments after he realized he should have said, "I can't afford to sleep that long, besides, I don't need that much." But it was to late now; Crane thought as he shut the door, getting one last glimpse of Rosethorn watching him with, Crane paused, could it be, worry? The door shut before Crane could double check, and so he determined that what he saw as worry was simply a trick of the light and his mind.

***

A letter had come from the city. They wanted someone to come from Winding Circle to help out there with the Sun Problem, as people were now calling it. And who was sent? Of course, the main character! Crane! He had some fun in the city, explained what was going on and what they were doing to try and figure out what was going on. Then, after a week or two, he finally started on his way back to Winding Circle…

Crane sat on a bay gelding, who was plodding along so slowly he could have screamed, but of course, he didn't. With a final kick in the horse's ribs Crane gave in for a long and boring ride home. This horse evidently didn't have any nerves in his sides. 

"You'd think you would want to get home sooner too, you know, warm stable and fresh hay…" Crane muttered to the horse, knowing it wouldn't make a difference. And it didn't.

So instead Crane stared up at the sky. A few, or rather, a lot, of clouds drifted above, leaving just enough blue sky for the day not to be called completely cloudy. More like partly cloudy. And it was so dark it seemed to be near night. It was midday.

Suddenly Crane came to a crossroads. He pulled back on the gelding's reins. That road hadn't been there when he was riding in, or had it? Crane thought back to his ride in. What had he been doing? He had been… Crane stiffened, _daydreaming_. The whole ride had been sort of like a dream, he remembered a warm sunny day, and the horse seemed to know the way to and from, Crane glanced down at the horse he was sitting on, it was the same one that had carried him in. What was its name? Crane thought hard then it floated up to him Tiger lily. 

"Tiger," Crane whispered and the horse pricked his ears back at him. 

Tiger Lily, wasn't that a flower? Crane's thoughts left the road in front of him and turned to flowers, which inevitably, led to Rosethorn. Crane started and stared at the road again, blushing although no one could see him. _Now _he remembered what, or rather, whom, he had been thinking about the ride in, and why he hadn't seen the side road. 

Crane cursed under his breath. This was getting worse. He couldn't even think without Rosethorn invading his mind! What was he going to do, or say to Rosethorn? 

Crane stared at the road and tried to drive Rosethorn from his thoughts. As he looked and idea came to his mind. Did he really want to go back to Winding Circle?

One part of his mind said, Yes!! You're dedicated there! (Lets call this on the AngelCrane.) Another said, No!! Work is too hard!! It would be soo nice to get away! (Lets call this one DevilCrane.)

AngelCrane: Shut up! You belong at Winding Circle! Your green house, the plants… and you're a Dedicate there, can't forget! 

DevilCrane: Hah! Dedicated! It's a free world! Go, Crane, go down the other road, and escape from all your troubles! The world is ending soon anyway, why not die happy?

AngelCrane: But even if you did leave, you wouldn't be _truly _happy…

That struck home. Crane looked down the road towards Winding Circle, a strange aching in his heart. How he wanted to be with Rosethorn, yet he knew she only thought as them as friends. But he wanted _more _then friendship. Without a doubt he tapped Tiger and steered him towards Winding Circle, feeling much happier, except for one thing tugging away at his heart.

He should tell her. He really should tell her, but what if, what if she… rejected… him? No, he couldn't tell her. And that, was that.

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this up, I lost my disk. Well, actually I knew where it was I was just to lazy to go and get it whenever I felt like typing and remembered. So there you have it. Please review! I love reviews! Thanks to Sarajii, Zurizip, ****AerinBrown, and Antonia for reviewing the first chapter!******


	3. The Darkness of Night

"Pack your bags," Rosethorn said, shoving Crane awake from where he sat, fast asleep in front of a telescope. 

"Huh?" he said, blinking sleepily, not even half awake yet.

"We're leaving," she replied sharply, "pack."

"Wha?" Crane answered, still not awake. He looked up and Rosethorn and yawned then stared at her in confusion. 

She sighed and then explained, "we're journeying to this place, Moonstream asked me to go and to bring you, since we're both plant mages and there's that whole Photosynthesis thing."

Crane, now more awake, could tell he was not the only one still slightly asleep. Rosethorn usually never explained things in that manner. He smiled to himself and climbed out of the chair, shoving Rosethorn out the door so he could have some privacy. 

***

Two hours later… 

"Now, where are we going?" asked Crane as he swung onto Tiger Lily's back once more. 

"I'm not entirely sure. It is this area up North. I believe it's supposed to be closer to the sun," Rosethorn replied, mounting up on her own horse, a gray mare.

"How far?" Crane asked, kicked Tiger into a walk.

"A week, maybe more away. That's all Moonstream told me. We're supposed to meet some friends of hers up there," Rosethorn told him, watching the plants that lined the road.

Crane himself just stared at the ears of Tiger, watching them twitch back and forth at the new sounds. He knew they were going somewhere new and so instead of his usual plod he was walking fast and energetically. Rosethorn's mare was going a little slower just behind, so Crane couldn't see them unless he looked back. 

As they went around a bend in the road, Crane saw a large log across. Tiger's ears went forward and his nostrils quivered. This was something new, something to be inspected. He took a tentative step forward.

"You like to jump, Tiger?" asked Crane.

He looked back at Rosethorn. She was patting the mare's neck and whispering in her ear. When she found Crane's gaze on her she looked up, then glanced at the log. Crane nodded and then told Tiger to canter. Tiger cantered up to the log, and mind you he had a rather barreling canter, and threw himself over it. He didn't jump; he sort of lurched over. Crane found himself falling, right onto the log. His head hit it and then there was blackness.

Rosethorn froze as she saw Crane fall. Damn stupid horse of his! Tiger Lily had cantered a few more strides before realizing Crane had fallen and so he stopped abruptly and turned around to stare at Crane, lying motionless in the dirt. Rosethorn trotted Stormy up the log, halted her and jumped off. 

Crane never had been a very good rider, unlike her. He always sat stiff, like a stick and didn't relax into the movements of the horse. What was he doing with a horse like Tiger? 

She climbed over the log and leaned over Crane. He looked okay; there wasn't any blood. Probably just knocked his head on the log and got knocked unconscious. Just like Crane to make a simple situation complicated. Still, what if was seriously hurt? She frowned; perhaps they should have a doctor look at his head? There _was _a First Aid Kit in the saddlebags.

Rosethorn looked up and found Tiger Lily standing a few feet away. She stood and walked over to him, scolding him for letting such an inexperienced rider go over the jump and fall off. In his saddlebags were some medical things. She pulled them out and walked back over to Crane, who was still out cold. 

She kneeled down next to him and peered at his head. His normally tidy black hair was scattered all over the place. Should she try and wake him up? He didn't look to be really hurt at all, except for that awful swelling at the back of his head. 

Crane opened his eyes and found that he was staring straight into Rosethorn's. She was very close, inspecting his head. _Close enough to kiss_, he thought, to his own embarrassment. She looked genuinely concerned and there was tenderness in her eyes he had never seen before. 

"How many fingers am I holding up?" she asked, holding up two.

"Four," he said and blinked.

"That's not good. How does your head feel?" she asked, leaning back and giving him more room. 

Crane sat up and ran his hand through his hair. His head felt pretty sore, but he wasn't going to tell Rosethorn that.

"Fine," he replied and stood up, swaying a bit. 

"Sure," Rosethorn said and stood up as well. Crane was surprised to find he was quite a bit taller then her, as always. Her personality added another two feet to her height. 

"Lets get going, the sooner we get there the better," Crane said, avoiding Rosethorn's suspicious gaze. 

"You're positive you're up to riding?" Rosethorn inquired, "you look a bit unsteady on your feet."

"I'm not unsteady!" Crane said and took a confident step towards Tiger.

The whole world swayed and he nearly fell down again. 

"You know, those cuts on your head look pretty nasty," Rosethorn commented. When he had stood up she found that he had a few cuts on the back of his head she hadn't seen at first. They were driving her crazy with worry, (What if they got infected?!), but she wasn't going to let Crane know she was worried. Usually she wasn't this much of a worrier, but the whole Sun Problem was making her behave differently. 

"Cuts?" he asked, touching the back of his head. His fingers came back bloody. 

Rosethorn grimaced, "you had better let me clean those up for you."

Crane nodded in submission and sat back down on the log. Rosethorn took the First Aid Kit bag and opened it, pulling out some wash clothes and disinfectant. She poured some of the disinfectant onto the washcloth and sat down behind Crane. 

Crane sat, his heart pounding harder then usual. He felt the coolness of the washcloth against the back of his head, stinging a bit as it touched the cuts. Once they were clean Rosethorn took some bandages and taped them over the cuts. 

"Alright, you're good," Rosethorn said, packing up the First Aid. 

Crane nodded and touched the bandages before standing up. Rosethorn had done a good job, he was sure the bandages wouldn't fall off. Looking for Tiger Lily he found the gelding grazing off the side of the road. He walked over to him and mounted up. The gelding was obviously unhappy he had to stop grazing but obediently started walking. Looking back he found Rosethorn leading Stormy around the log before mounting back up on her.

"Lets go," said Crane and kicked Tiger into a trot.

Once again, Rosethorn rode behind, and Crane battled the urge to look back at her, because once he did he had a feeling he might not be able to stop watching her, and then she would suspect something. 

A while later it was starting to get dark, as it got dark very early now and they stopped to make camp. Crane tethered up Tiger and took off his tack while Rosethorn built a fire to light the black night. The moon was but a dim shadow in the sky. 

They ate a quick, simple dinner then lay out their bedrolls and went to sleep. Or at least Crane did, his head cuts were making him tired. Rosethorn lay there, watching the fire burn down, and staring at the sky, her body tired, but her mind wide awake. She glanced over at Crane, sleeping on the other side of the fire. All she could see of him was the back of his head and the bandages covering part of his hair, which was still untidy. _He really should brush it more often_, she thought.

It really was very dark. Rosethorn glanced at the sky, almost as dark as space itself. He also kept it short, unlike a lot of men, who liked it long and put it in ponytails. Suddenly Rosethorn realized she was thinking about Crane's hair. Now thinking about hair in general, she could understand that, but _Crane's _hair?! Was she going nuts? She was probably very sleepy, since it was late and it had been a long day. 

Then had it been tiredness that had caused her to see something in his eyes, this morning, right after he fell off Tiger Lily. Silly of him, really. She had been watching him, and then he opened his eyes. At first his expression had been surprise to see her so close, then something else. But what? He had looked away to quickly for her to tell. Crane _had _been acting rather unusual lately, and it wasn't due to head wounds. There was a reason, and she knew it, it was right there, but she didn't know. Rosethorn fell asleep, frustrated and confused about Crane, and her own feelings. 


	4. The Wonders of Magic

"Good morning," Rosethorn said cheerfully when Crane woke up. 

She already had the fire going again and was eating breakfast. Stormy and Tiger were off a little ways, munching on grass as if there was no tomorrow.

"Ugh," was all Crane could say. He felt very dizzy and his head was pounding. Blinking, he stumbled to his feet.

"Crane?" Rosethorn asked, pausing in her eating. This was bad. Perhaps he had hurt his head more then was apparent. A concussion? 

He shook his head, and then winced, "I'm fine. My head is just a bit sore. We don't need to delay because of me."

Rosethorn nodded, she should have known she wouldn't get a reasonable answer out of him. He always denied it when he was sick. This was stupid. He really needed to see a doctor. At the next town she'd make stop and get him to see one. If he died from a concussion there only be herself to save the world. But, if she had any say in it, Crane was _not _going to die. 

A half an hour later they were back on the road, heading towards this place that neither of them knew anything about. Crane, although he denied it every step of the way, could barely sit in the saddle, and Rosethorn knew it. Tiger, apparently knew it too because he walked gently and followed Stormy calmly. 

"I'm really not that sick," Crane commented at one point, when Rosethorn glanced back at him to see how he was doing.

"Of course you're not," Rosethorn replied.

Crane sighed. It was the _truth_. The pounding had already gone away. He was only a bit dizzy and his head was aching. But whose wouldn't? He _had _just hit it on a log. Rosethorn was being silly, she worried to much- Crane paused. Since when did Rosethorn worry… about _him_?

This trip had been revealing a different side of her, and him a bit. Strange what being alone with someone did to you. You learned things about the other person. 

A few hours later they reached a village. Rosethorn halted Stormy and looked back at Crane, who was half asleep and sweet little Tiger, who was being careful to make sure he didn't fall off.

"We need to go in and get some more provisions," said Rosethorn as an excuse.

Crane nodded and they rode in. Rosethorn stopped in front of a small Healer's home and they tethered the horse's outside. Crane managed to get off Tiger and tie him up. Rosethorn, without saying anything, walked into the office.

"I don't need a healer," Crane said crisply as he saw where they were going.

"Yes you do," Rosethorn told him.

Inside there was a person sitting at a desk next to a fire, he was scribbling something on a piece of paper and mumbling things. The room was filled with medical supplies and remedies.

"Excuse me? Are you the healer?" Rosethorn asked.

The man looked up and smiled when he saw them, "Yes, I am. How may I help you?"

"My friend here fell of his horse and hit his head yesterday. As you can see, he's not feeling too well," Rosethorn said, glaring at Crane. 

"I'm fine," he insisted.

The Healer nodded, "Let me look at your head."

Crane glared at Rosethorn, but not without suddenly realizing how beautiful she was when she was mad. So of course, he wasn't really angry with her because the truth was, she was right. But he would _never _admit that. The Healer came and looked at the cuts on his head and frowned.

"I'll fix those up quickly but you had better rest a few days. You seem to have a mild concussion," the Healer informed Crane, "sit down here."

Crane nodded and sat down while the Healer's blue magic flowed from his fingers and healed the cuts. It didn't take more then five minutes. 

"Thank you," Crane replied. They paid the healer, who had also given Crane some medication, then left.

The moment they were out the door Crane got on Tiger and started riding. Rosethorn hurried to get on Stormy and go after him.

"A few days?!" Crane said when Rosethorn rode next to him.

"Crane. Would you rather you die and I go on to this place of Moonstream's alone?" she asked, amazed that Crane would actually be this thick headed.

"Me or the world?" he demanded.

"Crane, if you rest a few days, the world is not going to end!" Rosethorn told him.

Crane waved a hand at the sun, "It could!"

Rosethorn sighed in exasperation, "Crane, you and I are among the greatest plant mages in the world. We need you, if you die from not getting enough rest when you're sick, it's not like we can replace you!"

Crane reined in Tiger, looking at Rosethorn. She was genuinely concerned about him. Well, of course, since they were really friends despite all their arguing. But really concerned, like a little overboard concerned. Was there, perhaps a chance, she liked him more then a friend? 

Crane suddenly looked away. She was looking at him with a confused expression. Were his true feelings showing in his eyes? Crane grimaced. She was the most wonderful person he knew, yet, he was just a friend to her. She certainly hadn't shown any signs that she liked him more then that, except being worried about him. Then again she just said that he wasn't replaceable and that's why she thought he should rest. He really shouldn't get his hopes up, for if she did find out, and she didn't like that way, it would be much worse. 

"Lets go," Crane said and kicked Tiger into a walk.

"Rest?" Rosethorn said; would she ever get off his back?

"We'll find a spot to make camp," he replied, secretly hoping she would forget.

No such luck. The first suitable campsite she had the horses tethered and a small fire started. Crane pitched a tent, since it looked like it might rain and it was getting rather cold during the nights. Actually, he pitched two small one-person tents. Since it was only noon they still had the whole day to do whatever they wanted, and the day after. Not that there was much light to the day, but still. 

Crane sat on one side of the fire, staring into it. It was after all, easier then staring at Rosethorn for it didn't ask questions, although it did hurt one's eyes after a while. He didn't say anything, and neither did she, each lost in their own thoughts. What she was thinking about Crane could not fathom, but little did he know she was thinking about him.

Rosethorn was looking up at the dim sky and the orangey sun shining down on them. She really wasn't looking forward to two days of doing nothing. It was even worse because the reason they were stopped was because Crane was sick. She glanced at him. His face was pale and he looked a bit dizzy. Even so, he was pretty handsome- Rosethorn froze. Now what was that she was thinking? Crazy things one's brain does when one is tired. Then again, why should she be tired? It was only midday and they had been riding lightly. Maybe she hadn't been getting enough sleep. Except she had gone to bed early last night and got up late…

Okay, so maybe tiredness wasn't the reason, then what was? Rosethorn glanced at Crane again. Maybe he just _was _handsome. Why hadn't she ever noticed before? Perhaps she was too busy arguing with him. For once, they weren't s.aying anything to each other. It was weird. 

He looked so, so… _pale_. He really should lay down. Rosethorn pondered telling him that but ended up realizing she had been ordering him around quite a lot lately and he deserved a break. Then again, on second thought, it was for his own good. 

"Crane?" she asked. 

He looked up, a slightly surprised expression on his face. He must have been deep in thought. 

"Yes?" he asked, and for some reason he was avoiding her gaze. Why? Was he ashamed of something? But what?

"You look like you need to lie down," Rosethorn told him.

"I do not," he replied sharply, then wished he hadn't because a flash of hurt crossed her face. After all, she had just been trying to help.

"The Healer said…" she began then stopped, seeing the apology on his face. It was really quite easy to tell what he was thinking. He hadn't meant to be rude. 

Crane looked up and for once dared to look into her eyes. She looked concerned for him, and a bit confused. How he longed to go over to her side of the fire, wrap his arms around her, kiss her maybe. That was impossible though. What he should do was lie down, like Rosethorn suggested. Why had he been so rude to her? 

"Sorry," Crane said and stood up, looking away. 

Rosethorn watched him go into his tent and pull out a book to read, his hair falling over his face. There it was again. Just then, when he had actually met her gaze for once, something he didn't do very often anymore. He had been gazing at her with, something. She still couldn't place it, and it certainly wasn't anything she had seen in him before. 

Suddenly Crane looked up from his book. Rosethorn could just barely see him, since the tent flaps were open. He was looking at Rosethorn.

"Do you think the world is really ending?" he asked.

Rosethorn stared at him, "Maybe."

"No, I mean, do you sincerely think that the sun will go out and leave us in the dark and cold?" he asked. 

"Crane…" she trailed off, looking into the woods surrounding their camp.

"Answer me," he said, in a kind but steady voice.

Rosethorn looked at him. She didn't say anything, just looked, looked and thought. She considered his question very carefully, all the while examining his features. This question if his, it seemed to have more to it then just whether or not the world was ending. He seemed to be having an internal debate. If she answered one way, it seemed as if it would determine something. What though? She was pretty sure it had to do with whatever she had seen in his eyes just then.

"No," she said and it was the truth. 

Crane nodded and stared at his book again, his eyes unmoving. He was still debating it. He was debating whether or not to her something. But what would secret would he have that he couldn't tell her? 

Rosethorn sighed and stared back up at the sky. At the sun, which was the very cause of the problem. From what they knew, there was no reason the sun would just fade, which made this problem ever so complicated.

"Rosethorn?" Crane asked softly. 

She moved her eyes from the sky back to him again. His voice had a pleading quality. Whatever he was about to say, it was costing him. 

She nodded in acknowledgment of what he had just spoken, curious as to what he was about to say.

"I…"- there was a loud BANG!! and a flash of blinding white light. Rosethorn felt herself thrown to the ground, hitting it hard. Her breath left her so quickly she couldn't breath for a few seconds. But she wasn't conscious when she started breathing again. And neither, was Crane.

**A/N: There it is! The fourth chapter! Next one to be up as soon as possible. PLEASE review! Me LOVE reviews, good or bad!! **


	5. Loving Cheese

Crane opened his eyes. He was lying on his back, staring up at the night sky. The moon wasn't out and it was very dark. He was lying on soft grass and there didn't seem to be any trees nearby; which was strange since they had been near a forest earlier. Where was Rosethorn? Crane sat up and immediately wished he didn't. His head hurt even more now, he must have hit it during the explosion, or whatever it was.

Waiting for his eyes to adjust, Crane wondered what had happened. He had been about to tell Rosethorn, then an explosion. Now that he could see he found he was lying in a meadow. There were no trees for quite a while, nearly a mile. 

"Rosethorn?" he called, stumbling to his feet, ignoring the pounding in his head. 

Where was she? What if she had gotten hurt during the explosion? Oh god, what if she was _dead_? No, no, if he wasn't dead, he wasn't even severely hurt, why would she?

"Crane?" the grass moved a few feet away and Rosethorn's head popped up.

"Rosethorn!" Crane said and ran over to her.

He pulled her to her feet and wrapped her up in a hug. Suddenly he realized what he was doing and pulled away, embarrassed. Rosethorn was looking at him strangely. Watching her he just ached to reach out and smooth her hair and make sure she was all right. If he did…but he wasn't going to. 

"What happened?" Rosethorn asked, brushing off her habit. Crane was delighted to see she had no serious wounds except for a few scrapes.

"I'm not sure. Are you okay?" he asked, meeting her gaze.

"Fine. You?" Rosethorn scanned the area, looking for any familiar landscape, or at least the horses and their packs.

There wasn't any sign of human life. No footprints or hoof prints or small sheep trail. Nothing. Where had their campsite gone and the woods surrounding it? Had the explosion thrown them farther then she had thought?

"I'm okay," Crane said, and fought back the desire to hug her again, he was so relieved she was all right.

"We need to find our horses and packs," Rosethorn said, setting off towards the forest. It was nearly a mile away. A mile of tall grass and shrubs.

"We do. Do you think perhaps the fire exploded?" he wondered.

"Not possible. We didn't have any thing explosive or flammable with us. I think it was more a natural explosion," said Rosethorn.

"Seems all our things are gone. Tents, horse, food, my book," Crane replied, looking a bit worried.

"What were you reading anyway?" Rosethorn wondered, avoiding a plant full of burrs. It was quite dark and hard to see where they were going.

"Exotic Plants. I don't know how I'm going to find another copy of that," he told her.

"Don't worry, I have a copy of that book," Rosethorn replied, turning around and smiling at him.

"You do?" Crane looked very hopeful.

"Of course I do! You're not the only plant mage at Winding Circle, Crane," she told and stared walking again, tripping over a log.

Crane grabbed Rosethorn's armed and stopped her. He was staring ahead in the grasses, listening to something.

"Do you hear that?" he asked, stepping ahead of her.

Rosethorn shook her head and listened carefully, trying to hear whatever Crane was hearing. She shook his hand off her arm then slid her hand into his. Then she heard it. It was a low whistling sound, not ten feet in front of them.

"Lets see what it is," Crane said, tugging Rosethorn along behind him, holding her hand tightly, although more for the fact that he had never held her hand before and might never get the chance to do so again then for comfort.

Soon they found themselves standing at the edge of a smoldering crater. Just that. No rock, no whatever. Just a smoking crater about five feet in diameter. It looked like a small meteorite had hit. Maybe that's what had hit their camp as well. It was just good luck neither of them was killed. Crane glanced back at Rosethorn's shocked face. 

"Well," he said and walked around it, still holding her hand.

"Lets stay away from this. It gives me the creeps," Rosethorn said, yawning.

"Good idea."

***

Rosethorn, once again, watched Crane's sleeping form. She was tired of course, and she was trying to fall asleep, although it was a bit hard as she was lying on hard ground. It was chilly, and neither of them had their cloaks. They had been in the tents. 

Crane opened his eyes for a second and mumbled, "I'm not really asleep."

"Neither am I," replied Rosethorn, rolling over onto her back and looking at the stars happily twinkling down at them.

"Are you cold?" Crane asked, his eyes closed, looked quite asleep as he lie curled up on the grass.

"Yes. Are you?" 

"Yes."

Rosethorn turned her head and looked at Crane. He was looking the other way, at the tall wavy grass all around them. There was about a foot of space in between them. Rosethorn inched her body closer to his until they touched. She felt Crane startle. He looked over at her and this time his face was very close. 

"Body heat," she explained.

Crane smiled and put his arm around her. It was true; he was much warmer like this. But it was strange, being so close to her, feeling her breath on his face. Very soon she was asleep, and so was he.

***

Rosethorn woke up to find herself still curled up next to Crane. She was on her side and facing grass. His breath was warm on her neck. Now that it was morning it was a bit warmer then it had been last night, but still, with the sun so dim, it wasn't that much warmer. Rosethorn decided to just lie there for a while and enjoy the warmth, before Crane woke up. 

Crane. He really was a wonderful person. When she had slid her hand into his, god knows why she did that; he hadn't objected, just squeezed it slightly and kept going. She _did _get strange ideas when she was half asleep. She could barely believe was even sleeping this close to him. She hadn't been so close to him since- she had never been this close to him. 

Rosethorn paused in her thoughts. She and Crane had always been friends, they just argued quite a bit. Lately, though, during this trip, it almost seemed as if- but no. That was impossible. Unless? Maybe that was what she had seen in his eyes. His beautiful, dark eyes, that always seemed to be watching her, either with amusement or reproach. 

The way he did worry about her, the way he never would admit when he wasn't feeling to well. The way he was proud, even arrogant, it was all part of their relationship, which really was an odd one. Briar, she knew, thought they positively hated each other, which wasn't true but she could understand why he would think that. Poor Briar. He had really wanted to come along but Rosethorn explained this wasn't the sort of thing he could go on. 

Crane stirred a bit in his sleep. Rosethorn snuggled closer to him, enjoying the closeness. It was strange, yes, but she liked it, being so close to him. 

Was their relationship just friendship, or was it more? Little did Rosethorn know Crane had been having those exact same thoughts only a few days ago.

"Rosethorn?" a voice whispered in her ear. 

Crane was awake. 

"Hmm?" 

Crane stood up, leaving a slightly warm spot on the ground where he had been laying. Stretching he peered at their surroundings in the somewhat lighter day. He looked down at Rosethorn, awake, but not up.

She rolled over and looked at him. Seeing him all dirty with messed up hair made her laugh. She stood up as well.

"You look terrible," she then informed him.

"Why thank you," he said, winking, "for your information, you look terrible as well. Sleep okay?"

Rosethorn nodded then yawned. The day was young and they still had to find their belongings, not to mention where they were. To her surprise the forest was much closer then it had seemed during the night. The meadow was only perhaps half a mile wide. Over the grass she could see a small dent in the ground where the meteorite, or whatever it was, had hit. 

"Meteor shower?" Crane wondered, following Rosethorn's eyes to the hole.

"Perhaps. But _how _did we get all the way here? Wherever here is," she said sighing and running her fingers through her hair to make it look at least a little bit tidier. 

She glanced at Crane, who was looking at the sun. It was very dim, the light over the area wasn't very bright at all, although it would get a bit lighter during noon. It was already starting to become a colder climate here, even though it should be much warmer for early fall. This winter would be horribly cold. If they didn't find their horses, she hoped they at least would find their warmer clothing.

"Lets go North. That's the direction of Moonstream's town, and if we go in a straight line we have to get somewhere," Crane suggested.

Rosethorn nodded in agreement.

"By the way, what was it you were saying before that explosion?" she asked.

"What?" Crane asked very quickly, a slight blush on his face, "I wasn't saying anything."

Rosethorn looked at him. He was acting very… suspicious. What was he hiding?

"Yes you were. You looked up at me, with the strangest of all expressions I'll admit and you said, 'Rosethorn. I…' then the explosion."

"Oh, yes, I was wasn't I?" Crane's voice took on this high pitched quality.

Rosethorn glared at him, "well?"

"I was going to say… I… I like cheese," he said then glanced at her to see her reaction.

"You like cheese?" she echoed.

"I like cheese. We hadn't packed any so I was thinking perhaps we should have gone into town to get some. It's very healthy you know," Crane added.

"Uh huh," Rosethorn said.

She didn't believe him. He was obviously lying. Why though? What could be so… horrible… that he wouldn't want to tell her that much. Rosethorn realized Crane was walking away, North, scanning the ground and the area surrounding.

"Crane!" she called, hurrying after him.

"What?" he snapped. 

Rosethorn's eyes narrowed, "I won't laugh, you know."

Crane paused before replying, "I'm not so sure about that."

"Crane…" Rosethorn sighed, exasperated. What was wrong with him?

He looked away. Rosethorn grabbed his arm and turned him around.

"Crane, you can tell me anything. I won't laugh, and if you'd rather not other people knowing, I'll keep your secret," Rosethorn said, holding his gaze so he couldn't look away.

Crane didn't say anything. His dark eyes were intense as the searched Rosethorn's eyes for a hint, a sign, to give him reason to believe she wouldn't think him silly, that she wouldn't think him stupid, that she perhaps, loved him too. Nothing. Rosethorn was very good at not showing things she didn't want to be seen. Yet, with her hand still gripping his arm, it would be so easy just to lean down and kiss her. 

Rosethorn, meanwhile, was staring into the intenseness of Crane's eyes, suddenly forgetting their talk before. Her heart seemed to be pounding a little more hard then usual and she felt slightly giddy at the look in his eyes.

Crane forced his eyes away from Rosethorn's. She was driving him to do crazy things. Kiss her?! It was a good thing he didn't, for if he did, he'd be in big trouble. Why did he even agree to go on this trip, all alone with Rosethorn? If there was someone else to talk to, it'd be better, but…If he wanted to talk, he had to talk to Rosethorn, which only reminded of him of how sweet her voice was. He remembered once, watching her weed her garden, speaking softly to her plants. She could be sharp sometimes but truly, she was the nicest person, he could name _no one_ else who could make him angry while at the same time making him fall in love with her.

"Crane?" Rosethorn's voice shook him out of his thoughts. She sounded very confused.

"Sorry. Let's go," Crane said, and without looking at her, continued walking.

That wasn't the answer she wanted. She could have sworn Crane was about to kiss her, unless it was her crazy lo- _Oh god_, Rosethorn suddenly realized, _I love him_.

They walked in silence, Crane leading the way, Rosethorn following. Both were thinking madly of the other, although they were both pretty sure the other thought of them only as friends. Soon they reached the forest line and they entered, their feet now crunching leaves with every step. The forest was strangely silent, as if all the birds had migrated early. Every here and there a tree appeared to be torn up and thrown ten or twenty feet. It was very strange, but neither of the two said anything.

"Cheese?" Rosethorn suddenly asked.

Crane stopped and she almost bumped into him, which, she decided, wouldn't be so bad. He looked a bit nervous as he replied, "Cheese. I like cheese."

Crane suddenly remembered he was allergic to it, and sincerely wished Rosethorn did NOT buy any cheese at the next town in an attempt to be nice. But there was no way to fix that now. If he said it wasn't actually cheese she wouldn't believe him. The only way to fix that would be to tell her what he had really been about to say, and now that he thought over it, it hadn't been such a great idea after all. 

"What in the world is _that_?!" Rosethorn's voice echoed behind him in amazement.

Crane turned around to where Rosethorn's was pointing and his eye's widened in astonishment. 

**A/N: There. How was that? The next chapter will be up soon… I hope…**


	6. Welcome To Planet Earth

_Crane found himself staring at a rotating disk in the sky. Well… no, not really a disk. It was… a saucer!! A flying saucer!! A unidentified flying object!! A UFO!!! AHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! LITTLE GREEN ALIENS FROM MARS!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!_

A/N: Now for the REAL beginning! (Sorry… I got a bit carried away… but it WAS a flying saucer!) Oh yes, the REASON for this UNSEEMLY misunderstanding, is because I was HYPER!! YES, HYPER!! *cackles* THIS should be an INTERESTING chapter!! Hee, hee, hee….

Crane stared at the thing in the sky. It was… flying… but it was NOT a bird. It was silvery and looked to be in the shape of a slightly flattened sphere.

"The legends," Rosethorn muttered, amazed.

"What legends?" Crane asked, turning his gaze to her.

His breath caught in his throat. She was _so _beautiful when she was stunned and awed by something. For a second he could only stare while Rosethorn began to explain. Then he actually heard what she was saying.

"…in some old books at the library. Says something about natives having tales of strange floating disks in the sky," Rosethorn explained, still watching the UFO.

Crane nodded and looked at it again. There were two little laser like things on the side and they were starting to glow, as if something might shoot out at them.

"What's it doing?" Rosethorn wondered.

"I don't know," Crane whispered, staring.

There was red light shining at the front of the laser like things. Crane suddenly realized what it was doing. It was going to shoot. Right at them. These lasers were some sort of advanced magic!

Just as the lasers shot out at them Crane pushed himself and Rosethorn off to the side. They fell in an enclosed ditch he had not seen before and that was partially hidden from someone looking. They landed hard and dust floated up.

Rosethorn heard the laser's blow up the ground where they had been standing, as she lay on the ground. Why would the ship thing want to hurt them? Suddenly she realized Crane had landed on top of her and she was staring right into his eyes. She gave him a slight shove, keeping his gaze and he rolled over, off her. 

Rosethorn's breath was coming quicker then usual as she stared into Crane's deep darkness of eyes. He was _very _close. Another millimeter and their noses would brush. Crane opened his mouth to say something but Rosethorn muttered, "shhh" and shook her head. 

Crane was realizing that she was definitely close enough to kiss this time. And she wasn't pushing away from him. Crane leaned just a little closer to Rosethorn, so much that their lips only just didn't touch. 

"Stand up and put your hands above your head," someone said.

Crane felt Rosethorn tense up. He turned to look who, or what, was speaking. To his immense surprise a little green man was standing there. He was about two feet tall and holding a laser gun. He wasn't really a human, but his general form was like that of a human. 

Crane stood up and helped Rosethorn up. He put his hands above his head. Rosethorn did as well, although she felt rather silly about it. Then again the little green thing _did _have a gun. 

"Walk," it ordered. 

Rosethorn and Crane climbed out of the ditch and out into the woods again. The little thing seemed even shorted now. Crane even considered kicking it, but there was that gun again… 

They walked a little farther and suddenly found themselves looking at the floating disk again. It had _landed_.  A door slid open on their side.

"In," ordered the alien.

Crane and Rosethorn stepped in, and had the crouch down because there wasn't very much room inside. It was obviously built for creatures the size of the little green thing. The little green thing walked in after then and closed the door. He walked over to what looked like a chair and a control console. Then it turned to face Crane and Rosethorn.

"Earthlings," it said, "you may call me Loke. You have seen my ship and therefore you must never return home."

Rosethorn immediately said, "Excuse me! You will let us out right now! I am NOT letting a little green thing like you stopping _me _from getting home!"

"I am sorry," Loke said.

"Sorry isn't good enough," Crane said and stumbled. The ship had started to rise.

"I cannot let you return home and if you try to stop me I will shoot you," Loke informed them holding up his laser.

"Just you try," Rosethorn told the little thing and was about to punch it but Crane stopped her.

"We may be able to get out of this mess without violence. Besides, neither of us has any idea of how to fly this thing!" he whispered.

"Fine," Rosethorn said and sat down since she was getting tired of crouching. 

They were able to sit comfortably but not stand. Meanwhile Loke had turned his back on them and was fiddling with the controls. A window suddenly opened in front of them. Crane gasped. Below he could see forest, rivers, and fields whizzing by below. But that wasn't the amazing part. The amazing part was that they were _very_ high up. He closed his eyes, dizzy for a second before looking again.

Crane grabbed Rosethorn's arm, too shocked to say anything. Now they were above the earth, looking down upon it. It was beautiful. Until now, no human and ever been off earth, no one had any idea of what space was like or what Earth looked like from above. He could see the other planets, rotating so very far away, but closer then ever before. He could see the moon, as they flew very close to it. 

"Oh my god," Rosethorn said, breathless. 

"Great gods," Crane said after her, his eyes wide open.

"I would have given anything to see this if I had only known," Rosethorn whispered.

"You're giving everything. You're seeing it only on the condition that you never return," Crane reminded her.

_Not everything_, Rosethorn thought, _I still have you_. She considered saying this but then decided not to. He might get ideas. 

"You're not returning either," Rosethorn replied.

"Oh Rosie," Crane began.

Rosethorn looked at him sharply. Since when did he call her "Rosie"? Always before it had been "Rosethorn" or "you!" when he was mad at her, or at least a little angry. Come to think of it, she had never really seen him angry. 

"Rosethorn," Crane corrected himself.

Rosethorn shook her head, "No, it's okay. You can call me that."

Crane nodded but didn't say anything. He avoided looking at her now, lost in his own thoughts. His own thoughts, actually, of her. It was only about fifteen minutes earlier that they had, that he had, almost kissed her.  How had that happened? He remembered, staring into her eyes as they got a little closer, their lips almost brushing, then- that stupid little alien!  

"This is Agent 1296 reporting back. I have captured two of the earthlings, as they had sighted me. We may use the subjects for further study of Earth," the alien was speaking into something. 

Rosethorn and Crane glanced at each other but neither said anything. _Subjects?! _Rosethorn was thinking, aching to wrap her hands around the slimy little alien's neck. Not that it was actually slimy, but… theoretically… you get the point. *wink* *wink* 

Suddenly, a ship, a ship so large it was unlike anything on earth appeared in the view screen. It must have been a least a mile long. It was large, but powerful as well. You could tell me the streamlined design and the obvious lasers stationed on both sides, the engines hidden from view to prevent any enemy ships from having an easy target. Rosethorn and Crane were stunned speechless. 

"The mother ship," the little alien spoke and it was unclear whether or not it was speaking to them, or to itself.

As they flew closer a small door opened on part of the ship, although it was big enough for at least four of the small ships pass through together. They flew in and there was a slight lurch as the ship landed. 

The door to the small ship opened and the alien ordered them out, barely bothering to hold the laser at them, since they wasn't really anywhere they could run away to. 

They were now in the holding area of the ships, a large area made completely out of iron and steel. Crane could only think of how much armor one could make from all of that. Then again, for space travel, you couldn't really build a wooden ship now could you? A door opened and another alien stepped through. It had a golden sash around its waste. This one obviously had to be the Captain. The Captain inspected Crane and Rosethorn with the air of a Prince inspecting cattle. All Rosethorn could think of was how easy it would be just to kick it, then kick the guards that were standing behind it. But if she did that they would probably shoot her before she had a chance to kick anyone else. 

The Captain opened its mouth to speak. 

"Kill them," it said. 


	7. The Mother Ship

"Kill them," it said.

The aliens behind it raised their lasers and aimed them at Crane and Rosethorn. Then they glanced at the Captain, waiting for its command to shoot.

"No, actually I think we will keep them for study. I have been very curious about them," the alien considered, "maybe we could breed them and study the offspring as well…"

The Captain left and the two guards, as well as Loke, directed them out of the holding area. 

***

"Well," said Crane.

"Well," said Rosethorn.

"Looks like we're stuck here," said Crane.

They were in a small room, about five feet high and 100 feet square. It had metal walls and a closed, and locked, door on one end. That was it. Except for the little hole where food came through. It was always different, and always things from earth. Apparently they were trying to see what earthlings liked to eat. 

Rosethorn crawled over to the door and shoved it. Nothing happened. She shoved harder. Nothing happened. She stopped shoving and looked over at Crane, who was watching her. Watching her with that strange look in his eyes. The look was familiar. Rosethorn leaned against the door with a sigh, still studying the look on his face. 

A little shiver ran down her spine. He hadn't looked away yet. With a start Rosethorn suddenly realized. It all fit into place. Everything. _He loved her_. Of course! Rosethorn almost laughed. He had loved her long before she had loved him. 

Crane had looked away. He didn't see Rosethorn grinning like an idiot. He didn't see the door give way and Rosethorn fall backwards. But he heard it.

His head whipped around, "Rosethorn?"

Rosethorn picked her head up and looked at him. She was lying flat on her back on the fallen door, still grinning.

"Yes?" she asked, as if nothing had happened.

"Are you alright?" he asked, crawling over to her and peering out the hallway.

"I'm fine," she replied and sat up.

Surprisingly no one was there. No one but Crane saw the door break open. 

"We can escape," Crane said, looking down to the right, unaware he had just cut Rosethorn off from saying something. 

Rosethorn closed her mouth and nodded. He didn't know. He didn't know she loved him back. She wanted to reach out and take his hand and tell him right then and there and then kiss him. But she couldn't. They didn't have time. 

She brushed her self off and got on all fours, ready to crawl down the hallway. It was much easier then crouching down and walking, especially for tall Crane. Glancing back at him she raised an eyebrow and gestured down the right hallway. They had come down from the left, and seen nothing useful. 

"Lets steal a ship," Crane whispered, gesturing violently to the left.

 "No," Rosethorn shook her head, all silliness gone, replaced with an urgent seriousness, "I think these aliens may be the reason the sun is dying."

Crane gave her a funny look, then shrugged and followed her down the tiny hallway. 

Soon they came to another door. It slid open easily, revealing a room full of maps and charts and… _Master Plans_. Seriously. They were labeled in English, for some odd reason and in a box right on a small two-foot high table. 

Rosethorn glanced at Crane, who nodded and they went in. Rosethorn took the box of Master Plans. Crane tripped on his robes and was a few seconds behind Rosethorn. 

Rosethorn reached out and pulled open the box. Inside were more sheets of wrinkled paper. She pulled out the first sheet and read:

Find Other Planets for More Food. Scratch that Plan, other planets unkind. Destroy Other Planets. 

Take over Galaxy. Take over Solar System Containing Planet Earth First. Abduct cows and people for study. Destroy sun. Replace it with Fake. Change sun's light and watch effects. 

Rosethorn turned her head around and nearly jumped. Crane was right there, reading over her shoulder. She watched as his eyes widened as he read. He stopped and looked at her, a shocked expression on his face.

"Aliens," he said, shaking his head.

"I know," Rosethorn replied and put the plan sheet back in the box of Master Plans.

He sat down and looked at the ceiling suddenly looking very tired and in need of rest. After all, the two of them had been working very hard for a long time to try and save the world. And saving the world is a large duty. 

"Well, now I suppose we have to find wherever they are controlling their fake sun. Damn it! This is too difficult. Why did I have to go and be one of the strongest plant mages in the world?" Rosethorn asked, sitting down as well. 

She looked over at Crane, who was still staring at the ceiling with a "lets give up," look on his face. If only he knew, she thought. Then another thought came to her. What would happen if he did know? Would they stop arguing all the time? Maybe it was best to… just stay friends.

Rosethorn suddenly realized Crane had said something.

"What?" she asked.

"Its not you fault you're one of the strongest plant mages in the world," he said and ran a hand through his increasingly dirty hair. 

Rosethorn sighed and said, "Lets just go find out how to save the world," then added, "its not like we have anything better to do."

"You mean you don't want to save the world?" asked Crane, half teasing.

Rosethorn smiled and crawled out into the still, amazingly, empty hallway. Where were all the aliens? Or were they normally not populating this area of the ship?

Finally they came to two doors, both unlocked. Rosethorn went in the first and gestured to Crane to go in the second. Rosethorn suddenly found herself facing two aliens, both very startled. They were hovering over some controls and watching planet earth. Since they looked scared, Rosethorn decided to play powerful.

"Leave," she ordered, "Now."

The aliens left, running as fast as they could. Rosethorn smiled to herself and crawled over to the controls, inspecting them. The room itself was small, but it had the looks of importance. Rosethorn looked at one button. It seemed to could turn. Perhaps it was a volume control of some sort of radio.

She reached out and turned it up. Suddenly the light in the room was much brighter. But not from artificial lights. From the sun! She had found the control room of the sun! Now the sun was up full blast again. She looked out the corner of her eye at it shining brightly; shining normally.

Suddenly Crane burst in, looking even more disheveled them before. He grabbed Rosethorn's arm and pulled her out of the room. Once out of the room, Rosethorn stopped him.

"We have five minutes to get out. I'm blowing up the ship. I assume you made the sun go back to normal?" Crane wondered, starting to crawl back down the hallway. 

"Blow up?" Rosethorn echoed, crawling after him as fast as she could.

"Yes. All the aliens are in a meeting in their Great Hall, so we should be able to get to the escape pods without too much trouble," Crane explained.

"And you only gave us five minutes?" Rosethorn demanded.

"That was the maximum set for bombs," Crane replied, crawling faster. 

"Oh."

When they reached to the door to the room with the ships in it, Crane pushed it opened and stopped. Rosethorn bumped into him, and then peered over his shoulder. There was only one escape pod left. And there was two aliens climbing into it.


	8. Countdown To Mother Earth

The two aliens climbing in froze for a second. Then one said, "They set the bomb! Run!"

They climbed all the way into the pod and shut the door. The pod began to hum as it started up. Crane, suddenly being able to think again ran over, pulling Rosethorn behind him. He hit the ship where the door had been and tried to pry it open again. 

"Open up! This is the Captain!" said a voice, sounding almost exactly like the Captain. 

The door opened. Crane turned around. Rosethorn grinned and winked at him. Crane stared but he didn't have a chance to ask question. Turning back to face the ship he stared inside. The two aliens were huddled at the far end. Crane reached in and pulled them out and threw them to the floor. In one quick motion he crawled inside himself and scooted over to make room for Rosethorn. 

She crawled in after him and pulled the door shut, switching the lock as soon as it was shut. Then she leaned back against the back wall and sighed in relief. Crane shoved his hair out of his eyes and stared at the controls of the ship. It was humming beneath him so he knew it was on, but how to work it?

There was just buttons, buttons, and more buttons. And a view screen. Right now it showed that they were facing a large, unopened door that the escape pods would leave by. 

Crane pressed a blue button. Just his luck, large door opened, revealing the cold emptiness of space. Pressing another button they flew out into space. A computer voice said, "Setting auto-flight to Earth. Alert in Two Hours for landing."

"Well that's convenient," Rosethorn said suddenly, making Crane jump. 

"Yes," he said, nodding, now leaning back against the back too, his head turned towards Rosethorn. 

"What's a bomb?" Rosethorn asked, just as the escape pod turned at the angle where they could see Earth and the Mother Ship at the same time. 

Crane smiled grimly, "There was instructions for making bombs, God knows why. They apparently blow up things. I told it to set a bomb in the ship to go off in five minutes…"

Crane trailed off and stared as a silent nuclear bomb went off. This was far more amazing then seeing Earth from above or seeing aliens and their space ship. He reached out and took Rosethorn's hand in his, never once letting his eyes leave the scene. It took about two seconds for the shock wave to hit them. 

The escape pod rocked and flew over. Crane and Rosethorn both hit their heads and were knocked unconscious. Little did they know you had to be _awake _in order to land the ship properly. 

# Two Hours Later…

"Ten minutes to landing. Please activate landing sequence."

"Nine minutes to landing. Please activate landing sequence."

"Eight minutes to landing. Please activate landing sequence."

By then Rosethorn woke up. She put her hand to her head and touched wetness. Pulling it back she saw blood on her fingers. Sighing irritably she pulled herself up into a sitting position, putting a hand on the wall to steady herself and looked at the controls.

"Seven minutes to landing. Please activate landing sequence."

Rosethorn was wide awake now. She stared out the window. They were in Earth's atmosphere and hurtling down at a speed she had thought unimaginable before. But what was the landing sequence?

Rosethorn jumped as a hand rested on her shoulder. She turned her head and saw Crane, looking very worried as he stared down at the continents becoming ever larger. 

"To think, Niko always said the world was flat," Crane muttered. 

"How do you activate the landing sequence?" Rosethorn asked, unconsciously leaning back and resting against Crane's shoulder. 

Crane pressed a button. 

"Landing Sequeerrjlkh…" there was a strange popping noise and some smoke drifted up the controls. 

Crane looked at Rosethorn. Rosethorn looked at Crane. 

"Uh oh," said Crane.

"Please Prepare For An Emergency Crash Landing."

"Uh oh is right," Rosethorn said, dread sitting at the pit of her stomach.

"Six minutes to landing. Please Prepare For An Emergency Crash Landing." 

Crane unconsciously put his arm around Rosethorn's shoulder, a grave look on his face. 

"Ever seen a meteor?" Crane asked suddenly.

"Five minutes to landing sequence. Please Prepare For An Emergency Crash Landing."

Rosethorn shook her head, "Is this going to comfort me or make me more worried?"

Crane grimaced, "Well, it depends on whether or not you think we're going to die right now."

Rosethorn shrugged, and stared out the window, "Keep going."

"I saw a meteor once. It was a small piece of rock, flying down from space. About as big as this ship. It landed near my home when I was a boy. When it landed it wasn't as big as this ship. It was as big as (Crane made a circle with his arms about two feet across) this. And there were lots of little bits of rock all over the place."

"Ah," said Rosethorn, "that didn't comfort me. So I suppose you think we're going to die?"

Crane shook his head and looked at Rosethorn, "I really don't know. This ship isn't a meteor… but we're going pretty fast."

Rosethorn turned to face him, "So this is probably our end."

Crane shrugged and said, "At least we got to save the world."

A small smile played about his lips. Rosethorn saw it and started to smile too, "And at least we're dying with each other."

"About that…" Crane started.

"I know," Rosethorn whispered, leaning closer to him, "I love you too."

"Four minutes to landing sequence. Please Prepare For An Emergency Crash Landing."

"You do?" Crane looked mildly surprised.

"Of course I do!" Rosethorn said, "Not to smart eh?"

Crane smiled, and then glanced at the earth coming closer and closer. 

"Three minutes to landing sequence. Please Prepare For An Emergency Crash Landing."

"Crane," Rosethorn said, turning his face back towards her, "You do love me?"

"I love you," Crane told her, then leaned down to kiss her. 

"Two minutes to landing sequence. Please Prepare For An Emergency Crash Landing."

Rosethorn kissed him back and wrapped her arms around him. 

"One minute to landing sequence. Please Prepare For An Emergency Crash Landing."

They pulled away from each other and looked out the window. They could see clearly the mountains and forest beneath them, and Winding Circle! Crane's jaw dropped. 

"We're landing near Winding Circle," he said, amazed.

"Just our luck," Rosethorn said with a grin, "We get to die near all our friends."

"Emergency Landing Sequence Activated."

Rosethorn scooted as close as she could get to Crane and leaned her head against her chest. 

"I love you so much Crane," she whispered, the beginnings of tears in her eyes.

She didn't want to die know… not when she just found that her true love was the one person she had known for years. After all they say the best relationships start with friendship.

"I love you too Rosie," Crane whispered in her hair, his breath warm on her head.

There was a bang as the hit the ground. Rosethorn felt them sliding across the earth, cutting down trees. For some reason she couldn't see anything and was having trouble breathing. After what seemed an eternity they stopped moving. 

Rosethorn struggled and pushed Crane off her. He was knocked out. She opened the door to the ship and pulled him outside into the… dusty air… of their home. It wasn't normally dusty. She couldn't see but four feet in any direction. She looked down at Crane and felt for his pulse. It was faint, but it was there. 

Suddenly his eyes opened. His pulse sped up, and a smile spread across his face as he saw Rosethorn leaning over him. Crane climbed to his feet and pulled Rosethorn up with him.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he brought her close to him.

"I am, but really I should be asking you that," Rosethorn whispered.

"I'm fine… just a bit dizzy," Crane said and shook his head to get the hair out of his eyes. Blast hair, he should get it cut shorter. 

"What do you say we finish that kiss now?" asked Rosethorn.

"Good idea," Crane replied.

And so they kissed and the dust cleared, revealing all of Winding Circle staring with their jaws hanging down, especially the jaws of Briar, Sandry, Daja, and Tris. 

The Not Quite End… (Ever heard of an Epilogue?) 


	9. Epilouge

"You have some explaining to do," Lark said. 

It was later, much later, after everyone had dispersed at they had told their story, leaving out as much of their feelings as possible. Lark and Rosethorn had forced Briar and the girls to bed, although Lark had a sneaking suspicion they were listening through the walls. 

She, Crane, and Rosethorn were all seated at the table at Discipline Cottage. It was about eight at night and they had already eaten dinner and gotten Healers to tend to their wounds. 

"Yes, we do," Rosethorn agreed.

"I feel like we've been gone years," said Crane, pondering over how to scoot his chair closer to Rosethorn's without making it too obvious.

They were holding hands under the table.

"It all started when we went off to go to this place of Moonstream's," Rosethorn began.

Lark stopped her, "I've already heard your story, but you cleverly managed to leave out why you two were kissing after you landed."

Rosethorn and Crane both blushed.

"Lets just say we don't hate each other anymore… and its not just because we saved the world together," Rosethorn stated simply.

Crane smiled wistfully and looked at Rosethorn, "I think I fell in love with you at least before the sun started going out…"

"That long? No wonder you were acting so strange," Rosethorn replied smiling at him.

Lark smiled to herself and said, "Well as long as you two don't murder each other, I'm going to bed."

 "Goodnight Lark," Rosethorn called after her friend as she left. 

Crane stood up and Rosethorn followed suit.

"I haven't had a chance to see my garden," Rosethorn said and started heading for the door, "I hope Briar took good care of it or he will wake up in the well."

Crane agreed, "and my greenhouse."

The two stopped as they reached Rosethorn's garden. Rosethorn reached out with her magic and touched each of the plants in turn, making sure they were all right. Unconsciously she took Crane's hand and they walked through out the garden as she checked them. 

Once she was sure they were all right she turned and looked at Crane, taking his other hand in her other hand. Crane looked her, and at the moonlight, full and beautiful, reflecting in her eyes. He pulled his magic back away from his greenhouse, which was doing fine, and let himself forget everything that had been going on. 

"I can't believe we're alive," he said, staring into her eyes. 

"Me neither," Rosethorn agreed, giving a slight shake of her head, but never once letting her gaze leave Crane's.

"Oh gods, I love you," Crane said and kissed her, letting go of her hands and wrapping her in a hug as well. 

Once they finished Rosethorn answered, "I love you too, Crane."

Little did they know four pairs of eyes had been listening and watching curiously. 

"I wonder how _that _can about," Briar said, leaning back on the chimney and looking up at the stars. 

"It's a Mystery," replied Daja. 

"I wonder if we could get it out of them?" Briar wondered.

"No way!" the girls said at the same time.

"They'd never tell us!" Sandry insisted, "its far too personal."

"Look at that!" Tris suddenly said, pointing up at the night sky. 

A little white flash of light suddenly flared up and darted across the sky. It stopped for a moment, taking the appearance of a large star or planet then moved again, becoming just a bit bigger. In that time, all four of them heard a message in their minds before it zipped off and disappeared. 

The message was: WE'LL BE BACK… 


End file.
